


The Strongest of Bonds

by Demonized



Category: One Piece
Genre: Gen, Wordcount: Over 10.000
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-29
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2017-12-06 22:21:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 17,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/740797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demonized/pseuds/Demonized
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After having achieved his dreams of becoming Pirate King, Luffy can't help but feel like things are incomplete. When he and his Nakama are given the chance to reforge their bonds and strengthen them, they find out that things will be much harder for them. Everything comes at a cost, however, and they must relinquish every memory they have if they wish to move forward.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Shattered and Broken

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [It's Time For A Change!](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/19340) by Fifth-Of-Fourth. 



> This story was inspired by Fifth-Of-Fourth's It's Time For A Change! It is a very interesting fic, and a great read, so I recommend it! I am also working on chapters for Trial by Error, which chapter 5 is going to be ready in a few hours at the earliest.

He had always been so strong in front of them. An unyielding force of nature that stopped at nothing to ensure the safety of his Nakama. He stopped at nothing to ensure all of their dreams and promises came true. They stopped at nothing so he could even achieve his.

Their beloved Captain wasn't happy though. An intuitive part in each of them knew he was miserable, even with the bright smiles he gave. The smiles were empty, much like the void look he gained in his eyes when he thought nobody was looking at him.

They came together, for his sake. It was their turn to be the defiantly strong ones in his stead. For ten years they watched him silently suffer. For ten years he was broken and shattered. It was time that they fixed him.

* * *

"Are you sure it exists, Robin?" Nami asked as she went over her map of Raftel one last time. They had been researching this, all eight of them, for the past nine years. Their beloved archaeologist had been the one to unearth tidbits of a legendary chamber on Raftel, one that was said to grant a singular wish or so the myth went.

"I am certain it exists, Nami." Robin gave the navigator a tired smile and laid out the journal she had kept on this chamber. She had been up all of the past night amending all of her notes and making sure that they were one hundred percent accurate. The delightful chef of their ship had even kept her company, much to a swarthy swordsman's complaints, and kept her focused with generous helpings of snacks and beverages that helped boost energy levels. Zoro had ended up dragging a half-conscious Sanji back to their bunk after she alerted him of the Chet's own exhaustion.

"Go rest up while I set the course." Nami scooped up her map and Robin's journal so she could study them both. She got up from the table as Robin left, and went in search of Franky and Usopp. Once she relayed their new heading to the shipwright and sniper she went to the Sunny's figurehead. Luffy was there, as expected, his captain's jacket draped over his shoulders. "Luffy."

His body tensed slightly at the sound of her voice and there was a slight hesitation before he turned to smile at her. It tore at her heart every time she saw that smile, the cheerful and vibrant life gone from it. "Ah, Nami. Where are we going?"

Luffy's perceptiveness startled her and she blinked at her captain before she gave him a small smile. Nami wasn't sure on what she could tell her simple-minded captain about Robin's discovery on Raftel. There were times when it seemed Luffy was smarter than he let on, and they all saw it but never pressed the issue. She said nothing on it now, and instead sat down beside her captain. "We're going back to Raftel. Robin found something about a secret treasure." That was the best she could tell him, though it was only a half truth.

"Treasure?" Luffy gave her a glance filled with suspicion since he knew Nami had scoured every inch of Raftel and counted every single Beli on the island. For her to miss a treasure was essentially a crime.

Nami seemed to realize this as soon as she said it and laughed nervously. "It's very well hidden, Luffy, in a mystery room," she explained quickly, and even threw in that it was in a mystery room. She knew how her captain worked, too well, and he often called things a mystery even when it was fully explained to him.

His suspicious look vanished and understanding seemed to dawn on his face. "A mystery treasure in a mystery room?" Luffy was getting excited, which was a good thing in her book. Hopefully Robin's find would pan out, because she couldn't stand seeing her captain so void of life.


	2. A Heartfelt Wish

They made it to Raftel without incident, and in the few weeks it took them to reach the final island of the Grand Line Luffy seemed to hold an interest in the mystery treasure in the mystery room. There was a small spark of life back in their captain's eyes, and it made them happy to see that all was not lost. They would still go through with this one last endeavor for him, to see that spark return to a flame.

Before they disembarked from the Sunny Robin pulled everyone aside in the Aquarium Bar, save for Luffy, so she could explain what the consequences and costs for what they wanted to do were. For this thing to work they would have to sacrifice all of their memories of each other.

"I don't care what it costs me. I would give anything to see that Luffy is truly happy again. He's done so much for me, and he has always believed in me, in all of us, even when we didn't believe in ourselves." It was Zoro who spoke up, much to everyone's surprise, but they all agreed with them. Luffy had always been their driving force, even through his own suffering. He had seen in them a potential beyond what everyone else saw, and he brought that potential out in each of them.

"I agree with Marimo. Luffy has given us something that can never be taken from us, shitty consequences and prices be damned. Now let's go find this damn room." There was no need for this discussion of consequences and what it would cost them. They all knew in their hearts at the start of their research nine years ago that it would cost them all something important. It was a one shot deal, though.

"Straight to the point, Sanji-kun. Okay, Nami and I have deduced that the chamber lies beneath where One Piece is kept." Robin held up the map Nami had drawn up for her based on all of the information she had given the navigator and pointed out the location of the secret entrance. "To access the entrance we need to hike around to the northeastern side of the mountain. The path is easily missable with no visual markers."

"And the entrance is sealed. The switch to open it is reported to be in One Piece's chamber. Robin can make a clone to activate the switch." Nami handed each of them, save for Zoro, a copy of the map. The swordsman didn't say anything on it and just moved closer to Sanji to take a look at the cook's map. "Now, let's go make us a happy captain."

* * *

It took several hours of hiking, and Zoro occasionally disappearing (even under Sanji's watchful eyes), to reach the entrance to the hidden chamber. It was open, thanks to the Hana Hana no Mi clone Robin had sent to search for the switch to open the chamber, so they entered. Everyone looked around in awe, save for Luffy, at the circular room made of floor to ceiling mirrors. Their captain was oddly silent, a calm expression on his face.

_"Welcome back, Pirate King."_

Luffy watched as his Nakama looked around in surprise, though Robin was the first to smile at him knowingly. It was no surprise to her that he had managed to come across this before. He had known about this place all along, knew what it did, and had never breathed a word about it to them. He could have used it for himself if he had wanted, but he didn't, for whatever reason.

"Luffy. You already knew about this?" Nami was probably the most surprised out of his Nakama, being that she had charted Raftel all those years ago and hadn't found this chamber then.

"Hai~, Nami." Luffy approached the mirrors directly across from the chamber's entrance and touched the smooth surface. His reflection wavered and started to shift, something that hadn't been mentioned anywhere in the research.

 _"Welcome, Mugiwara Pirates."_  Luffy's reflection took on a new form, that of a young boy who looked much like their captain, only smaller. He was smiling serenely as Luffy stepped back and joined his crew mates.  _"I have been waiting for you to come see me for a very long time."_

Okay, now they were so very confused. Their captain had already known of this, and his reflection had grown younger and was talking to them. They had seen many a strange things, but this one was starting to take the cake. Each of them had their guard up now, save for Luffy who was looking at them expectantly.

Robin was the first of his Nakama to step forward, with the hope that all of her research hadn't been for naught. She knelt down in front of the child-Luffy reflection and smiled at it like she would her captain. "You have been watching over us, through our captain, have you not?" The apparition in the mirror nodded. "Could you explain why?"

The child-Luffy apparition frowned and glanced over to the Pirate King.  _"There have been very few who are worthy of coming here, even fewer who are worthy of being granted a singular wish. He did not want to use it, just like the one before him."_

"Gol D. Roger?" Nami questioned softly, and received another nod from the apparition. It was understandable why someone wouldn't want to use the wish. Still... They couldn't stand to see Luffy suffer anymore. "Our memories are very precious to us..."

"We're Nakama though, and Nakama are forever, regardless of what we have to give up." It was Usopp who spoke, a determined look on his face. "We all have had our share of pain in our lives, but we can't watch you continue on like this! That's why..." The Sniper King trailed off as his voice cracked slightly.

"We all want for you to be happy again." Franky came up behind Luffy and nudged the twenty-nine year old with an elbow.

"Guys..." He felt so guilty, worrying his Nakama like this. Luffy didn't mean for them to worry over him, but they were so very perceptive. He wanted them to be happy too, more than anything. Nine years ago, he would have gone through with making his own wish, but the idea didn't sit well with him for the fact that he wouldn't be giving them a choice in the matter. Now they all practically ganged up on him, and a glance at the knowing look on the child-Luffy's face gave him his answer. "Thank you, everyone." He wished that they too could be happy, even if it meant to never see them or remember them again.

There was a flash of blinding light in the room, and when it vanished the room was empty, save for the apparition in the mirror. As his form changed to that of Roger, the brim of his straw hat covering his eyes, he grinned to himself.  _"You make the impossible possible, Monkey D. Luffy. You just may change the course of everything there is."_


	3. Eternal Sonata - Sad Beginnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On YouTube there is a wonderful English version of Bink's Sake, done by hyperionthundermain, that I recommend listening to. I like his lyrical translation the best, and though I won't be putting his translation into this chapter, it is the one that the Rumbar Pirates sing in my mind.

He ran headlong in the seemingly unending darkness, chasing after a grinning figure in the distance. Brook had only ever gotten glimpses of this person, their features somehow familiar though he would swear to having never met the person before. He was a teenager, probably seventeen, maybe seventeen and a half, with short and wild black hair and a small scar under his left eye. The most memorable thing about him wasn't the red vest and blue shorts he wore, but the old straw hat he wore.

As soon as he caught up to the boy and reached out to touch him he was startled by a very disturbing change. Instead of flesh, his hand was nothing but bone. Brook woke up with a frightened gasp and tumbled out of his bed. He checked his hands several times, and even pinched himself to make sure that he was awake. It had been quite a scare to see his own limb suddenly turn into just bones.

After he was assured that he wouldn't be turning into a skeleton, even in part, Brook got up and tried to remember the dream before his fright. He had been running and there had been someone... As he tried to picture the person the details of the dream faded, leaving him scowling. It was best that he didn't dwell on it, and so he dressed for the day and left his cabin.

Yorki was leaning against the railing on the upper deck, watching the fickle weather of the Grand Line when he came out. His captain was smiling and humming their favorite song, Bink's Sake, to himself. With a grin of his own, Brook pulled out his violin and started to play the more upbeat version they were used to singing.

" _Yo ho ho ho, yo ho ho ho..._ " Yorki grinned and sang along as he turned to watch Brook play. Little Laboon, the island whale that had followed them into the Grand Line, had loved this song and would always chirp and dance in the water when it was played. Though they had been saddened to leave Laboon behind with Crocus, they were firm in their belief that they would one day see him again.

" _Yo ho ho ho, yo ho ho ho..._ "

* * *

Weeks had passed since Brook had had that strange dream he could no longer remember. Captain Yorki and a few other crew members had contracted a disease that had been deemed incurable, and so they had left to contain it. Now he was the Captain of the Rumbar Pirates, though he had never wanted to obtain Captaincy in such a way, and they were pushing on to keep their promise to reunite with Laboon.

Brook stared at his wanted poster, a thin smile on his face as he folded the paper up. The thick fog of the Florian Triangle made things difficult to see, but he was quite sure the crew would want to celebrate him gaining a bounty. It was dangerous here, more so than usual, as the fog hid many things. Even if all of them should die, he would at least be able to carry on to one day keep their promise with Laboon. He had eaten the Yomi Yomi no Mi, after all.

He was startled out of his thoughts when a cannon, one that was not their own, went off. The ball hit the water off of their port side stern, and every available hand was quick in getting to their stations. Brook let go of his wanted post and grabbed his shikomizue, the hidden sword leaning up against the wall of his cabin by the doorway.

* * *

The battle had been long and bloody, but they had won, and only barely. The attacking pirates had poisoned their weapons, and so they only had a short while left to live, as their only doctor had died in the battle. Despite this, they were all happy. Brook would eventually revive and could make his way back to Laboon for them. It was decided that they would go out in a fantastic bang, playing Bink's Sake and recording it for Laboon to hear on a Tone Dial.

Brook sat at the piano and played as, one by one, his comrades died. He continued to play until all that was left was him and the song came to an end. The poison took his body then, and he was enveloped in darkness.

When he came back to consciousness he was floating, not like a bird but the sensation was as close to flying as he could imagine. He was aware that he had to get back to his body, wherever it had gone off to, and so he started to search for it.

Brook wasn't aware of the passage of time, but by the time he did find his body he was horrified to see that it was nothing but bones and clothes. The only good thing was that his afro had remained, and he silently cracked a joke about having very deep roots in his mind. He assumed control over his skeletal body, and gingerly picked up the tone dial that still sat upon the piano. The revived pirate pressed play and a melody slowly began.

" _Yo ho ho ho, yo ho ho ho..._ " He wanted to cry, but as he was lacking in tear ducts he settled for sadly humming along to the song recorded in the Dial. Laboon was, no doubt, still waiting for him, and he would have to wait even longer still. Brook was incapable of handling a ship so large by himself, and he had to gather the remains of his crew.

One day he would be able to keep the promise the Rumbar Pirates had made with Laboon. Until then he would wait, for what he didn't know. He had a sense that his life would be boring for a long time, but someone would come and shake things up for him. Someone young, and full of life. He didn't know how he knew it-it was just a feeling after all-but it would be well worth the wait.


	4. Do It With A DON!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where we truly start to see a change in the events of the lives of the Mugiwara Kaizoku. Brooks's was unavoidable, and necessary, unfortunately.

Pride filled him as he dragged a cloth soaked with special oils across the steering wheel of his dream ship. She was a beauty, and strong like the lion figurehead decorating her bow. She would take him places, he and the rowdy crew he had been convinced into joining. A glance up to her figurehead gave him a glimpse of short, wild black hair peeking between the blade-like pieces of her mane. A contented and grateful smile stole across his face as he finished polishing the wheel.

He absently tucked the cloth into a pocket in his floral shirt and walked over to the figurehead. He waved to the skeletal gentleman playing a violin as he passed by him, never once thinking him odd or out of place. As he came closer to the figurehead he found it harder to move, his body becoming sluggish and heavy. He could just make out the back of the Captain's head. He didn't know how he knew it, but that was the Captain of his dream ship sitting out there on the figurehead. He opened his mouth to call out to his Captain, whose name slipped his mind, when something smacked him in the head.

Cutty Flam jerked awake and bolted upright, his head colliding with Iceburg's. "Oww... Damnit, Ice! What are you doing?!" He held his forehead while Iceburg clutched at his nose, blood seeping from between his fingers.

Iceburg said something quite unintelligible, and at his fellow shipwright's flat look he repeated it again. Then once more. He resorted to pointing at the doorway, where their mentor, Tom, stood. The merman chuckled at the sight of them and motioned for them to follow him.

Cutty felt a little guilty over Iceburg's nose and fished a clean handkerchief out of his pocket. He held it out to his friend and got up once Iceburg accepted the cloth and moved. "Sorry, man. I didn't expect you to be standing over me." Which had him questioning why Iceburg had been standing over him to start with. To wake him up, apparently. He got up and followed his friend out into the hall, where their merman mentor waited for them.

They walked the sort distance to Tom's office and when Tom pulled down the cork board where they had blueprints pinned up, both the teens' eyes bugged out. There was a panel in the wall, their sharp eyes able to pick the less than noticeable seams out from the rest of the wall. Tom slid it open to reveal a safe. "I've been safeguarding this ever since my mentor passed it on to me. It is no longer safe for me to keep these blueprints, so I am passing them on to you." Tom opened the safe and pulled out a thin roll of paper.

Cutty and Iceburg stepped closer to examine the paper as it was unrolled. To their disbelief, they were looking at the blueprints of something called Pluton. A weapon. They immediately knew that if anyone from the World Government were to get their hands on just these blueprints alone... It would be terrible for the entire world. They looked at each other, then at the blueprints before they agreed to safeguard this momentous secret.

* * *

Cutty Flam, or Franky as Iceburg liked to call him, inspected his small platoon of Battle Franky ships. Iceburg had said that he should dismantle all of the old ones, so nobody else could get their hands on them and use them maliciously. Ever since that Spandam guy came snooping around for the blueprints to the Pluton, he had been getting a very bad feeling. Tom's pardoning was coming up soon, and he certainly didn't want anything to go wrong.

He couldn't name why he was feeling this way, but Cutty Flam dismantled all of his Battle Frankys. It was a long job, and he worked all throughout the night to get it done. When morning came, he was passed out by the pieces of the last ship, which was how Iceburg found him. Yokozuna, who had come to help him in the middle of the night, was asleep by the neatly stacked lumber that had made up the ships.

Iceburg stared in wonder at the scrap yard, then at his friend and smiled. Cutty had taken his warning to heart, and had dismantled his creations. Even though it hadn't been something his friend had wanted to do, it took a lot of pride swallowing to do it. Going over to the sleeping shipwright in the making, he nudged Cutty with his foot. "C'mon Franky! Time to go watch Tom get his pardon."

There was an incoherent grumble and Cutty rolled over, eyes half open. "Okay, Ice, I'm up!" He got up with a groan and rubbed at his face. Dismantling his beloved Sea King Hunting ships had taken the better part of the night, so he was extremely tired. Yokozuna, despite having come to help him with his project, was up and alert. Cutty looked around the scrap yard and sighed. The only one he hadn't dismantled was the latest one that had actually worked. That one was hidden away.

Iceburg called for him again, then ran ahead to where Kokoro was waiting for them. Cutty and Yokozuna followed, and when they all finally reached where Tom and the Judiciaries were, they were all smiling happily.

"Because you have built the Sea Train, and saved Water 7, we hereby pardon you for any one crime of-" The sound of a cannon firing drowned out the rest of what the Judiciary was going to say, and the concrete between Tom and the Judge blew up.

A tremor of horror went through the crowd as people dove for cover, while the present Marines rallied together and spotted a small ship in the distant water. Nobody could recognize the ship, and another cannon fired. Cutty unfortunately caught the brunt of the attack.

* * *

It was dark, at first, and when he could finally open his eyes, it was to the worried faces of Iceburg, Kokoro and Yokozuna. He tried to sit up, but found he couldn't move.

"Don't sit up, Franky... You're still healing from the operation..." Iceburg stated in a soft voice.

Operation? He was SUPER! He was more worried about Tom and what had happened at their mentor's pardoning.

"They let Tom go. A full pardon. He saved their lives and helped take out the attacker." Iceburg smiled faintly, then his face grew worried. "He got injured really bad though, Franky."

* * *

It turned out that there wasn't anybody they could blame for the attack on Water 7. Whoever had been on the ship had gotten away, though it wasn't unscathed. Tom had been severely injured in the attempt to stop the culprit, and had lost an arm. The old shipwright refused to have a cybertronic arm grafted on, and instead used everything he had to save his life.

With a new lease on life, and at Iceburg's urgings, he took on the nickname Franky. Guilt tore at him, because if he hadn't got caught up in the cannon fire, Tom would have been able to spend the money on himself for a cybertronic arm. Franky decided it was best that he went his own separate way, at least for a while. Tom didn't blame him, and he knew that. He just needed some time to himself.


	5. Unexpected Side Effects Part 1

Gol D. Roger had a weighty decision to make. The flow of time had been altered, not because he had been granted foreknowledge of what was to come, but because his successor had made a wish. To be more precise, the entire crew's wish had been granted. They would remember nothing of their  _previous_  life, and he probably shouldn't have either, but for some reason or another he had been granted knowledge of everything that was to come following his death, as well as what happened in each of their lives.

  
Roger didn't know who to turn to, but he had to do something. Even though he was to die in a manner of his own choosing, knowing that Rouge, his own son and even old Newgate were going to die.... It was creating a mess of conflict in his heart. The Pirate King wasn't going to idly sit by when he could help to further change how things would go.

  
Roger was also aware that he couldn't play favorites, not when his successor and his crew needed help as well. First, he needed to find a lot of paper and ink. Then he needed to set up a meeting with old Newgate and get things set up for when he gave himself up.

 

* * *

 

  
Portgas D. Rouge held the letter from her lover in trembling hands, tears in her eyes as she read it over. She was going to be hunted, that much she understood, and Roger's letter was as confusing as it was chillingly accurate. That he knew she would stay on Baterilla and hide her pregnancy for as long as possible once he gave himself up... She wasn't sure how to react to that.

  
The letter in her hands crumpled as she tried to make sense of the request that Roger was making of her. He wanted her to leave Baterilla and South Blue, before he turned himself in to the Marines. He had already contacted someone to come and pick her up, and they were due to arrive soon. There was no telling how soon soon was, and there wasn't even a hint as to where she would be going.

  
A knock on her door made her jump, and after she collected herself Rouge tucked away the letter and went to answer the door. She quickly wiped her face clean of tears and opened the door. To her surprise, shock and astonishment Monkey D. Garp was standing there. Nervousness was quick to take over and she smiled weakly at the Marine Vice Admiral. "How may I help you, Kaigun-san?"

  
"No need to be so formal, Portgas-san. I am here as a favor to our mutual acquaintance to escort you to East Blue." He smiled cordially, and she felt oddly at ease with Garp despite having just met him. That Roger had supposedly even asked a Marine to help her was... Incomprehensible. Then Garp did something that made it easier to trust him completely. He held up a pink hibiscus, like the one she wore tucked into her hair, and offered it to her.

  
"He really did send you," she whispered as she took the flower, and the reality of everything set in. Rouge felt more tears coming on and she stubbornly wiped at them as she bade Garp to enter.

 

* * *

 

  
Dragon couldn't believe his eyes. The Pirate King had written him a letter. It wasn't just a letter though, but information vital to a cause that he was working on building for a revolutionary movement. There were things he needed to prepare for and he would need to get support right away, especially with what was supposed to come in two years time.

  
Most would probably call him a fool for believing that anyone, let alone the Pirate King himself, knew what would happen in the future. Dragon was a D., just like Roger, and his gut was telling him to follow the careful instructions in the letter. This coming attack on Ohara, where a Poneglyph was being studied, needed to be averted. How, though...

 

* * *

 

  
Edward Newgate, also known on the seas as Whitebeard, was contemplating on the letter that Roger had sent to him. It was several pages long, and what information was held within those pages was unsettling. There was talk of betrayal amongst his crew, years and years from now mind you, and he could hardly believe it to be true. Roger wasn't known for lying, though, and what's more was the information of Roger's son becoming one of his own. At least, he had done so in a previous life, but this time would be different?

  
Out of all the times he and Roger had clashed and then ended up drinking together like the best of friends, there had never been a breath of this kind of talk. Edward read through the letter again and scowled. It seemed like this foreknowledge of Roger's was only recent, ever since he had visited a special place on Raftel. The Yonkou didn't know what the Pirate King was speaking of, but he wasn't going to question the validity of the information.  He was definitely going to interrogate the man when he came for this visit he had mentioned.


	6. Flowering Demons

She couldn't have been happier, and it was all because of her  _Nakama_. It was all because of  _him_. She spied glimpses of him on the figurehead, raven black hair a wild mess and a smile so warm and full of life... Robin picked up her cup of coffee with a disembodied hand and sipped at it while she flipped the page in her book and continued reading. From her peripheral she could see their blue-haired shipwright walking over to the figurehead from the helm of the ship. He passed by the tall skeleton playing  _Bink's Sake_  on the violin and waved to on his way to the figurehead.

  
Robin idly hummed along as she took another sip of her coffee. It was days like these that filled her with such joy. She glanced over to the figurehead again and blinked. There was someone else sitting up there with their Captain. She could make out equally wild black hair of the slightly taller figure. She stood up to go down to the main deck when her world shifted.

  
Robin woke up to the unpleasantness of being dragged out of what constituted as her bed, her cruel aunt Roji gripping her ankle in an iron-clad hold. Uncle Oran was pleading with Roji to reconsider something, but the woman wasn't hearing it. Robin had no idea as to what was going on, but it wasn't going to end pleasantly for her.

  
Roji dropped her ankle when they reached the kitchen, and yanked her up by her arm. It hurt, but Robin kept from crying out, as that would only make things worse for her. "Look here, you ungrateful brat! Where is the jam and bread that was here last night?"

  
"I... I don't know. I didn't touch it." Robin looked up at her aunt Roji, her voice quavering with her fear at what the woman would do. The grip on her arm tightened painfully and she whimpered as Roji leaned down to stick her face into her's.

  
"I know you ate it all, you ungrateful little wretch!" Roji let go of her arm and drew back her arm to strike Robin with an open palm.

  
"I didn't!" Robin tried to brace herself for the blow, but it never came. When she looked up, her uncle Oran had Roji's wrist in his hand. He looked upset, which wasn't usual for him.

  
"Why don't you get cleaned up, have something to eat and then go play outside?" Robin blinked at her uncle, who smiled kindly at her before fixing a stern look on his face as he turned to Roji.

  
Robin didn't have to be told twice. She ran upstairs and washed up, all while wondering why her uncle had finally decided to intervene like he had just now. On her way back down she took the stairs slowly. There was a pleasant scent in the air: eggs, bacon and toast! Robin reached the bottom of the steps and found a plate on the table, and that Oran was at the stove cooking. Aunt Roji was nowhere to be found.

  
"Food is almost ready, Robin." Oran plated the eggs and bacon, followed by the toast. Next he poured juice and milk into some cups and laid everything out on the table. "Go ahead and sit down, Robin." There was something different about her uncle. He hadn't been so openly defensive over her, nor had he ever cooked her breakfast before.

  
Something big was going to happen today, and it felt like it wasn't going to be good. It wasn't going to be bad, either, so Robin wasn't sure how to feel about the situation. She ate her breakfast in silence as Oran watched her contemplatively. When she finished she started to get up, but her uncle was faster and cleared away her dirty dishes. He shooed her out of the house with an eeriely nice smile.

  
As she ran through the town to the hills by the coast where her secret friend, a giant named Jaguar D. Saul, was staying she tried not to think of her uneasy feelings. He had taught her to laugh, even when she was sad, and this was one of those times, thanks to her aunt, that she needed his company. Later, when she was cheered up, she would think more about uncle Oran's behavior.

 

* * *

 

  
She had been gone for only a few hours and the town was completely deserted. Uncle Oran and Aunt Roji were gone with her cousin Mizuira, clothes and items strewn about the home. It was obvious that they had rushed to leave, and the realization that they had purposefully left her behind hurt.

  
Robin ran out of the house and to the Tree of Knowledge, where Professor Clover and the archaeologist of Ohara were usually at. They too were gone, she discovered, and all of the books that had been stored in the Tree were also missing.

  
It was strange, and terrifying. Everyone had left and she was still there. Why hadn't she noticed anything odd, other than Oran's weird behavior this morning? With tears threatening to fall, she ran out of the Tree of Knowledge and into the legs of a woman.

  
Robin caught herself before she fell and took a few steps back to look up into the face of a surprised Nico Olvia. She stared into the woman's brown eyes, exactly like her own, and the terror she felt turned into wonderment. "Okaa-san?" Her voice was small, but the woman heard her regardless, and the girl was rewarded with a smile.

  
"Robin!" Olvia bent down and picked the eight year old up off of the ground, her wavy white hair cascading from her shoulders and forming a temporary curtain that framed her face. "What happened here?"

  
"Okaa-san... They... They left me!" Tears fell Robin wrapped her arms around her mother's neck. The woman held on to her and started to carry her away from the village.

  
"I'm here for you, sweetheart," Olvia whispered soothingly. She paused as she heard something or someone running up the path, then quickly ducked between two homes. She shifted Robin in her arms, the girl quieting as she too heard the noise, and watched as high ranking CP9 agents ran past. They hadn't noticed them, not yet at least, and it was very possible she could slip away with Robin. "Did they take all of the books from the Tree?"

  
Robin glanced up at her mother and nodded silently. She returned her gaze back to the path just as the current leader of the CP9, Spandine, strolled past, accompanied by the rest of his agents. The man was holding a small, Golden Den Den Mushi and was gesturing dramatically at it as he talked. She was tempted to use her Devil Fruit ability but another glance at her mother stopped her.

  
"We need to leave," Olvia whispered, and backed down the alley until they were safely around the back of the house to run. She continued to carry Robin to the hills the child had frequented the past few months, where Saul was currently at. They came upon the giant, who was staring at something in the distance out at sea. "Saul-san!"

  
"Ah!" The giant glanced down at them at the sound of his name and forced a smile. "Olvia-san... They brought a Buster Call. They intend to destro-" His sentence was cut off by the sound of cannons firing. Deafening explosions rang out across the island as the Buster Call Armada began its barrage from all around Ohara. The giant cursed and left the safety of the hills to go out into the ocean. "Get away from here, Olvia-san, Robin-san!"

  
They watched as he lifted one of the Battleships, larger than even him, and used it to destroy another of the Battleships. He continued on to another Battleship when the sea began turning to ice. The giant quickly returned to the beach as a tall and slender man appeared on the sand.

  
"Ararara... I did not expect you to go to such lengths, former Vice Admiral Saul-san." The man, who had a laid back air about him, glanced from the giant to Nico Olvia and Robin. "Aiding a known fugitive and criminal, whom you had set free."

  
"Run, Olvia-san!" Saul moved to attack the man they could now tell was a Marine, and a Vice Admiral at that. The Marine nimbly dodged the blow and went around him to go after Olvia and Robin. The giant halted his progress as mother and daughter fled, but at the cost of his own life.

  
Olvia, still carrying her daughter, ran down the beach, and spotted a boat in the distance. The ground beneath her feet turned to ice, however, and she slipped on the changed surface. She twisted her body so that Robin wouldn't be hurt by the fall, and waited for them to stop sliding on the ice before she got up and started running again.

  
The Vice Admiral easily caught up with them and formed an ice barrier in front of them, forcing Olvia to stop. He regarded the mother and daughter carefully as he approached, his expression quickly softening as he sighed. With a single motion if his hand the ice barrier vanished, leaving Olvia confused. When he walked past her and to the boat, she was shocked when he stuck his hand into the water and formed to thin lines of ice, one on each side of the boat out into the ocean. "This will carry you across to the closest island. Go, before anyone sees you."

  
Olvia hesitated, her uncertain gaze scrutinizing the Vice Admiral. Only when she heard the distant shouts and cries of Spandine and his men did she jolt into action. She ran over to the boat and set Robin inside of it. Olvia climbed in once Robin was safely settled in on the bench seat and she turned to look at the Vice Admiral once more.

  
"And remember this: I am not your ally... If either of you do anything, I'm the  _enemy_  that will be the first to catch you." With that the Vice Admiral left them, his destination a ship that was coming around the curve along the beach. It was Spandine's ship.

  
Olvia, with Robin's help, started to row the boat between the ice tracks. They ignored Spandine's shouts when he spotted them, no doubt blaming them for his mess, as well as the disappearance of the island's inhabitants.


	7. Miraculous Medicine

He was sitting on the mid-deck, grinding down herbs in a long-practiced motion as he listened to the soft music being played at the bow of the ship. Chopper paused every now and then to look up at his _Nakama_ , a smile on his face as he noticed them gathering by the lion figurehead. Sitting on the figurehead, between a blond and a brunet was the Captain. The oldest of the three, the brunet, was pushing a worn old straw hat down onto the Captain's head.

Laughter rang out across the ship, from them, the shipwright, the violinist skeleton. Even the archaeologist chuckled softly, yet discretely. "Chopper! Come join us!"

"Okay!" Chopper jumped up and quickly tidied up his little work area by the herb garden. After everything had been cleaned up and put away for later, he happily trotted down the stairs to join his _Nakama_. Just as he reached the bottom step he tripped and went tumbling. When he sat up he found himself half-buried in a snow drift, heavily wounded. A man stood several feet away from him, boldly stripped down to nothing and his arms out to show he bore no weapons.

* * *

Life with Doctor Hiluluk was great, once he got past his fear and misplaced anger towards the man. The man took care of him and nursed him back to health. He even gave him a name. Tony Tony Chopper. He loved his new name, his new identity. Hiluluk was like a father to him, though he never admitted as much to the man.

Over the course of a year they went around the Drum Kingdom, treating the sick and miserable villagers that King Wapol's Isshi-20 wouldn't. There was another Doctor on the island that was free of Wapol's control, but Chopper had never seen her. She had to be a great Doctor, but Hiluluk was the best.

Admiring the soft, pink hat Hiluluk had given him, probably for the thousandth time, Chopper smiled. After a long moment he pulled the hat on and turned as Hiluluk came in from a trip of gathering some special ingredients. The look on his face was a little grim, which made the reindeer pause. "Doctor? Is something wrong?"

Hiluluk's expression briefly hardened and he started to open his mouth to say something, only to halt and study the blatant concern on Chopper's face. His features quickly softened and the old man wearily sat down on the edge of the bed, patting the spot beside him as an open invitation for Chopper to join him. The chibi-esque reindeer got up without question and was quick to snuggle up to his side once he was seated on the bed. "I have something to tell you, but before I do so you must promise me that you will let me finish speaking first." Chopper nodded without any hesitation, his gaze filled with resolute determination as he waited for Hiluluk to explain what was going on.

"I don't have much longer to live, Chopper," Hiluluk stated in a voice so soft that the reindeer had thought he was imagining the words. The gravely serious expression on the man's face as he waited and watched, likely for Chopper's reaction, solidified the reality of the situation and tears began to form in his eyes. His mouth opened, but quickly shut as he remembered that Hiluluk wanted him to wait to speak. A sad smile formed on the man's lips and he wrapped an arm around the young reindeer.

* * *

He was gone. His father was _dead_. Days before the disease sapping away Hiluluk's health would finally take his life there had been an announcement that Wapol's Isshi-20 had all fallen gravely ill. Being the concerned and kind man that he was, Hiluluk had gone to treat them. Chopper had quietly followed after him, naturally, out of a desire to help his father, only to witness the level of Wapol's cruelty and trickery reach an extreme.

It had been a viciously laid trap, but Hiluluk had been well prepared, his cunning knowing no bounds, and had tried to take Wapol's life with his own after tearfully expressing his relief that the Isshi-20 hadn't been sick at all. The attempt to blow Wapol up had been largely in vain, that much Chopper had seen before he had been knocked unconscious.

When he had come to, he had thought it to be a frightening dream at first, but he quickly found that it had all been very real. The woman doctor, Kureha, was the one who had knocked him out and had taken him away before anything untoward could happen to him. She sat across from his bed, rather the wholly unfamiliar bed he had awoken in, drinking from a bottle of plum wine held in one hand while she clutched a tattered navy top hat in the other.

Unshed tears made her eyes glisten, her expression stricken with grief. She said nothing to Chopper as she got up to somberly walk over to the bed and set the hat down beside him. Kureha was silent as she returned to her chair, taking another draught of plum wine while she watched Chopper hesitantly lift up the tattered hat.

Tears welled up in the reindeer's eyes and a wail spilled from his mouth as he crushed the hat to his chest. For close to an hour he let out his grief, until he could no longer cry, quieting down to sniffles and finally exhausting himself into a fitful slumber.

"I promise you, old fool, to make him the best damn doctor in the world," Kureha whispered, a stray tear making a quickly cooling track down her cheek. Her gaze went from Chopper to a small glass jar sitting on the bedside table. It was half full, containing a beautiful pink powder, the results of Hiluluk's thirty long years of research.


	8. Unexpected Side Effects Part 2

Rouge smiled cordially at the unkempt lot of bandits strewn about the room. In the center of the room sat their boss, Curly Dadan, who was staring her down. She returned the gaze unflinchingly, hands at her sides though they itched to cover her abdomen. She was nowhere close to showing, not yet, but she could feel the tiny flutters whenever her precious little one moved. Ace.

Dadan finally conceded with a gruff sigh, and motioned with her head for the men to bring out the food. "You'll be expected to help out around here, Portgas-san. I understand you are in a delicate situation right now, but that doesn't excuse you from helping out." The bandit woman watched Rouge carefully, who only continued to smile cordially, which was starting to unnerve her a bit. Damn Garp and damn her inability to say no to the man!

"I understand, Dadan-san." She picked up one of the mugs that had been brought out and filled it with water. Taking a sip from it, Rouge glanced around as the men carried on like usual, fighting over the food that they had brought out. One of them, a large man who kind of resembled a chicken, came over to her, carrying a plate heavily laden with all kinds of food.

"Here you go, Rouge-san," the bandit said in a subdued voice, looking rather bashful as he held out the plate for her to take.

"Thank you," Rouge said with a heartwarming smile as she accepted the plate of food. "What's your name?" She placed the plate onto her lap and daintily picked up the utensils that had been thoughtfully placed on the plate with the food.

"M-magura, Rouge-san." Magura blushed profusely, unused to the politeness that Rouge was showing him, and he bowed deeply to her.

"Thank you for the food, Magura-kun," Rouge cheerily exclaimed and the other bandits, whom had paused in their fight for food, all got up and approached her to introduce themselves.

Dadan, whom was watching all of this in extreme wonderment, smiled softly and lifted her mug of sake to her mouth so no one would see her expression. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have Rouge live with them after all.

-TSoB-

Shanks pulled the straw hat down on his head and kept his gaze downcast as he followed behind Roger onto the Moby Dick, the infamous Whitebeard's massive ship. Why he was coming along was beyond him, but the Captain had insisted upon it. Buggy had seemed a little put out over this, but the Captain's Orders were best to be followed.

"Gurarara! What's this, Roger?" The voice was booming, which caused Shanks to finally glance up, and his eyes went wide at the sight of the massive man seated on an equally massive throne-like chair. The man was a little older than his Captain, but his age didn't show. He had very light hair, and instead of a beard, the man sported a crescent shaped mustache. "Who's the boy?"

Roger beamed and motioned for Shanks to introduce himself, which he shakily stepped forward and swallowed. "Shanks, Whitebeard-san," he stated as he bowed low to the world's strongest man.

"Nice to meet you, Shanks! Have a seat and have a drink! Gurarara!" The massive man motioned to a few tables that had been placed out on the deck of the ship, where a number of the Whitebeard crew had taken seats. There were plenty of spots open and Shanks meekly bowed again with a quick thanks before going over to sit and eat.

Roger grinned as he watched Shanks go mingle, then turned his attention to Whitebeard. "You're starting to get old, Old Man," he teased as he approached, setting down the large jug of sake down between the two of them. There was a very large sake cup set out, for Whitebeard of course, and Roger motioned for his friend and rival to help himself.

"You're not getting any younger yourself, Pirate King." Whitebeard did just that, filling the massive sake cup to the brim with the clear liquid then lounged with the cup in his grasp. "You mentioned that boy, Shanks, in your letter, friend, but he isn't the one, is he?"

Roger shook his head no and smiled, watching as Whitebeard lifted the cup to his mouth and drained it. "He'll definitely become very strong one day, but the one that I _alluded_ to will come in due time. That one will rock this world to its core, and Shanks will help him do it."

The cup was set down and Whitebeard sighed, his gaze going from Roger to his sons and daughters strewn about the deck of the ship. "That other thing you mentioned… I know you aren't one for lies, and though it was tough to accept… I can't let that kind of thing happen. I love all of my sons, and my daughters, very dearly, but losing two of them to this…monster you mentioned… I can't…"

"I know how you **feel** , Edward. I truly do." Considering the foul traitor would eventually kill his own son if things were left as they were, Roger himself couldn't bear the thought of it. He had started making the changes. Rouge was now safe and hidden. Ace would have his mother to help guide him and hopefully keep that temper of his in check. "The name of the traitor is…" He glanced around, looking to see if anyone was paying attention, or if the man was even present himself. There was no sign of Teach, so Roger leaned in close and whispered softly, for only Whitebeard to hear, "Marshall D. Teach."

Whitebeard looked positively stunned, and his gaze too swept over the deck for signs of Teach. After a moment his expression turned serious and he scowled. "He hasn't done anything yet…" The man was affable, and simply knowing that it was him… "But I can't risk letting him stay with my sons and daughters." He would need to call a meeting with the Division Commanders and voice his concerns to them. Once they discussed what would be done, he would do what needed to be done. He would exile Teach from his crew.


	9. Bountiful Harvest

The sunshine was warm and the cool breeze that swept over the deck was refreshing. A happy upbeat song was being played in the background, one that was well-loved by their crew, and it kept her spirits high as she finished the minute details of her latest map. Pleased with herself, she carefully hung it up to dry in her room shared with their Archaeologist and then made her way back out onto the deck.

Everyone was gathering at the front of the ship, and beyond them, sitting on the figurehead were the brothers. Their laughter and delight was loudest, and she couldn't help but smile as she made her way to them. The course was already set, so she didn't have to worry about it, especially with the crew she ran with. Gaze set on the youngest of the brother's, the back of his head and that silly straw hat of his the only things she could see, she paused when a loud boom shook the entire boat.

Nami bolted upright from where she was laying in Bell-mère's tangerine grove, narrowly missing bumping her head on Nojiko's, whom had been trying to wake her up. They had been looking for treasure back in the grove, using a map that Nami had found months earlier, but they had been unsuccessful thus far. The map had been hidden away in a book on Navigation, which Nami had tried to steal, also an unsuccessful endeavor, and had fallen out without Genzo-san noticing when he had caught her stealing the book. The map, which looked more like a crude doodle of Kokoyashi than anything, had a bright red x marked around where Bell-mère's tangerine grove was behind the house they lived in. Nojiko didn't think there was any treasure, but Nami's gut said otherwise.

All of the booming and the ground shaking startled them, and both the girls scrambled up as shouting came from the village proper. Nami and Nojiko looked at each other, fear in their eyes, before they started running back to the house where Bell-mère was. Nami didn't get very far when she suddenly tripped over something sticking out of the dirt.

"Nami!" Nojiko, upon noticing that her orange-haired sister wasn't keeping up, turned around and began to come back for her. Once she got closer she paused, her mouth dropping open as she saw what Nami had tripped over. "Look!"

The object in question was the corner of something, sticking up out of the dirt, and there seemed to be a bit of a hole, not too big, visible. Nami rolled over and sat up to observe this oddity, while Nojiko came and knelt beside her. Brushing some of the dirt aside, the girls saw that what Nami had tripped over was a sturdy piece of board. Pushing this from over the hole, the girls' eyes grew large as they took in the contents within.

-TSoB-

Genzo had found them, and thankfully they had been far enough back in the grove to go unnoticed by the Fishmen that were here to take control of the Kokoyashi. His reaction upon seeing the cache of treasure, however, left the two girls a little confused. "Take fifty-thousand Berri each, you two, and hurry. We haven't much time!"

Knowing that he meant well, Nami and Nojiko grabbed exactly fifty-thousand Berri each, stuffing it into their pockets, before covering the cache of treasure back up. Genzo helped, eagerly, and made sure that it looked like a regular dirt path, before ushering the girls to Bell-mère's house.

With the house in sight, both the girls panicked and became afraid when they saw a large group of Fishmen. What was even more frightening was that Bell-mère was on the ground, blood dripping from some wounds to her head and her arms, while the rifle she had favored was on the ground beside her with the end of the barrel broken in an odd way.

"Bell-mère!" Nami and Nojiko ran to her, and their adoptive mother wrapped her arms around them, tears in her eyes.

"One hundred thousand Berri for an adult, right? And fifty thousand Berri for a kid…" She held them close to her, her eyes shut tight as she seemed to come to a decision.

Nami and Nojiko stiffened slightly, then with realization at why Genzo had told them to take the money from the hidden cache… Bell-mère didn't have enough for all three of them.

"We have the money for all of us!" Nami cried out, pulling out the fifty-thousand Berri she had stuffed into her pockets. Nojiko did the same, and they held out their shares of the money to the rather intimidating Saw-shark Fishman that was closest to them.

"Wh-" Bell-mère let go of the girls and covered her mouth, silencing the question of where the girls had gotten the money from, so as to not cast suspicion on anyone else of the village. Her arms automatically went back around the girls when they edged back towards her and clung to her.

"This is one hundred thousand…" The Saw-shark Fishman stated after carefully counting the bills the girls handed to him. "You're a hundred thousand short."

"The rest is inside," Bell-mère bit out as she glared up at the Fishman. He made a gesture for her to go get it, a razor-tooth grin on his face as she reluctantly let go of her daughters and slowly stood up. She limped back into her home, with Nami, Nojiko and the Fishman trailing after her, the girls hurrying in front of her to stay away from the Fishman.

He watched as she went to a cabinet in the kitchen and pulled out a tin. From within the tin she retrieved the rest of the payment and calmly strode back to him. It was placed into his outstretched hand, a greedy smile on his face while her face was blank of emotion. Taking the time to count it, he continued to grin while she stood there, hands now at her sides and fisted. "Two hundred thousand Berri total. Pleasure doing business." He turned, pocketing the money, and started out of the house when something on the table caught his gaze. Going over, he picked it up. "What's this?"

"That's mine," Nami cried out, recognizing the map she had drawn of Kokoyashi Village.

"Oh?" The Fishman turned to look at the girl, a calculating look of interest in his gaze after he had studied the rather detailed map. "You drew this?"

Nami went quiet, a stricken look coming over her face while Bell-mère moved as fast as she was able to and snatched the homemade map out of his grasp. "What more do you want?!"

The Fishman look positively annoyed, and quite ready to kill Bell-mère, but since she had the money to cover for herself and the girls, he wasn't going to kill her just yet. Not unless she did something truly worth getting killed over. "I would be willing to make an arrangement with the girl in return for her services. She draws maps for me and you get to live."

"I'll do it!" Nami cut in before Bell-mère could open her mouth to refuse the Fishman. "Just please… Please don't hurt Bell-mère and Nojiko!"

"Nami…" Bell-mère didn't know what to say, her eyes full of hurt and understanding. Limping over to her youngest daughter, she knelt down and held up the map for her to take. "I believe in you, Nami," she whispered. "You're the best!"

Nami held back her tears as she took the map from Bell-mère then hugged her. "Nojiko can show you where the treasure is hidden," she returned in a whisper of her own, before she pulled away and went to hug her adopted sister. "Make sure you aren't followed when you show Bell-mère the treasure," she whispered to her sister, at which Nojiko nodded.

"Come on already," the Fishman snapped, irritated with how long this was taking.

"Hai," Nami let go of Nojiko and followed after the Fishman as he left Bell-mère's house. Glancing back, she saw Bell-mère and Nojiko come to the doorway, tears in their eyes. Wiping away her own tears, she hoped that everything would be okay.


	10. The Perfect Dish

"SANJI! MEAT!"

He sighed with a faint smile and flipped the kabobs one last time. The aroma wafting from the skewered meats and vegetables were positively mouthwatering. After another minute he plated all of the food up and carried it out onto the deck. Plates of lighter, tastier food were handed to the ladies of the crew first, with some swooning on his part, followed by the plates of kabobs to the male members of the crew.

His arms quickly emptied, save for the plates that went to the three on the figure head, he started making his way up to the Captain and his brothers when a hand ghosted up his ass. He immediately flushed a bright red and spun around to yell at the perpetrator when everything around him vanished, instead replaced by the dark, stormy sea around him. When had he fallen into the sea?

He frantically tried to swim up to the surface before he ran out of air, but something had caught on his foot. Sanji began to panic when his vision began to worsen and turn black at the edges. He was barely aware of an arm wrapping around his tiny body and his leg quickly being freed before the darkness took him.

-TSoB-

"C'mon kid, breathe!"

Large hands carefully pressed down on the center of his chest, forcing him to expel the water from his lungs. His nostrils were pinched closed and there was a pressure on his mouth before air was forced into him. He came to, coughing and hacking, and the hands shifted to help him sit up.

"There you go. Easy."

Sanji gazed blearily up at the pirate that had led the crew in the attack on the ship that he had been working on as a scullion. He coughed a couple more times, with the pirate giving him a couple hard thumps on the back, to clear out the rest of the water.

"Take a moment and get your bearing, kid." The pirate spoke in a gentle tone as he pulled away.

Sanji calmed his breathing after a few more moments and finally looked around. They were on a rocky outcropping elevated high above the sea. There was no way for them to get off, from what he was able to see of this side, and he looked to the pirate for answers. "Where…?"

"Don't know, kid, but from the looks of it we're stranded up here." It would be a slow death, but he couldn't bring himself to tell the kid that. Some rations had washed up with them, though he wasn't sure if it was such a fortunate thing, not to mention a huge sack of treasure. The rations themselves would last someone like the kid, if he spread it out wisely, a small little while. For himself… Well, he was used to going hungry for stretches of time, so giving the kid the food would be better.

"Why did you save me?" Was Sanji's next question, and the old man gave a weary smile at it.

"Because you have the same dream as me, kid." The pirate picked up a piece of fruit that was nearby and gave it to him. "Here, go ahead and eat." He pushed the fruit into the boy's hands then went about on gathering the rest of the food up into a small sack.

Sanji ate the fruit quickly without any care, eying the pirate as he put the small sack of food by him before going over to the larger sack. Once he finished the morsel of food he frowned, picking up the sack meant for him. "Why's your bag bigger?"

The pirate looked at him for a long moment before smiling benignly. "Cause I eat more. Now go over to the other side of this outcropping and watch for any-"

"Ahoy there!" A voice called out, making the pirate pause in his instructions for the kid.

Sanji and the pirate both looked out and saw a man with fiery blue wings instead of arms hovering out over open sea. "Wha…" The boy fainted at the unexpected sight.

-TSoB-

He came to in a warm bed, memories of everything he'd been through rushing into his head. Sanji sat up fast, causing a momentary bout of dizziness that made him lay back down just as quickly.

"You're up!" A stern looking woman appeared in his line of vision and she pressed a hand to his forehead. She seemed satisfied after a moment then went on to checking for bruises or other injuries. "Are you hurt anywhere?" He winced when she got to his ankle of the leg that had been caught under something when he had been underwater. "Here?"

"Yeah… A storm sank the cruise ship I was on and I got stuck on something underwater." His voice came out weak and he spoke very softly. The woman seemed to hear him, however, for she nodded and produces a roll of linen to wrap his foot up.

"You seem to have sprained your ankle. You're going to need to rest this foot until it's healed up so you don't agitate it and make it worse." She made quick work of wrapping his foot then turned to go write something down in an open book on her desk. "Do you have a name?"

"Sanji." He sat up and watched her now, wondering what had happened to the pirate that had saved him. "Where's that…old guy that had saved me?" A glance around what he supposed was an infirmary was enough to let him know that he was the only patient.

"He insisted on going to the galley and fixing you something to eat." She turned back to catch the look of relief on his face and smiled faintly.

"Did he… What's his name?" Sanji fidgeted with the covers on his lap, his gaze going to a frayed edge on the sheet.

"Zeff. My name is Zeff," the man himself said as he walked into the infirmary with a tray of hot food.

The scent of it wafted over to Sanji and one sniff of it made his stomach give an embarrassing gurgle. "Ah…"

"Looks like someone is hungry." Zeff carried the tray of food over and set it over the boy's lap, using the built in legs to keep it elevated off of Sanji.

Sanji hesitated in picking up the spoon for his soup, a nervous glance sent to the pirate. "Thank you," he said in a timid voice as he dipped the spoon into the broth. He brought it to his mouth and gave it a small taste, his face lighting up before he dug into the soup in earnest.

"I really should take a look at you," the nurse harped, approaching Zeff with a dangerous look in her eyes. "The two of you were stuck up there with very little food between the two of you."

"Huh?" Sanji stopped eating as he heard that, then looked to Zeff, who had his hands up to ward off the nurse. "You had that big ol' bag of food, so it was fine. We weren't up there for very long."

" _That big ol' bag_ held nothing but treasure in it, Sanji-chan," the nurse bit out, her eyes narrowed as she stared down Zeff.

"What? But… Is that true?" Sanji gave Zeff an imploring look and the pirate gave a defeated sigh before he stiffly walked over to one of the bedside chairs and sat down.

"It is, kid. I gave you all of the food." The admission came in a soft voice.

Sanji looked stunned, the spoon in his hand slipping from his grasp and landing with a loud clatter in the bowl. It sent broth all over the tray, but thankfully that was it. "Why? Why would you do something like that?" Zeff could have split the food between them and he would have been none the wiser. Instead, he had given him **all** of the food.

"Because I know what it's like to go without food… It's rough when you're out on the high seas with a shortage of food and no land in sight." Starvation was a terrible thing, and it made people do terrible things too. "I didn't want you to experience that."

Tears came to Sanji's eyes and he stared down at the meal the man had prepared for him.

"Go ahead and eat, okay?" Zeff got up from his seat, the nurse having thankfully backed off, and walked out of the infirmary.

Sanji picked up the spoon and took his time with finishing the rest of his meal.


	11. Unexpected Side Effects Part 3

Shanks scowled as he stared at his reflection. Three slash marks starting over his left eye brow and going down onto the same side's cheek now marred his face. He wasn't aware of what had caused one of Whitebeard's Nakama to attack him out of the blue like that, but it had set in motion something even he wasn't aware of. The one who attacked him was known as Teach, and while the rest of Whitebeard's Nakama had been quite shocked Whitebeard himself had looked…saddened. He had been sent off to the infirmary where the nurse fussed over him. Now that the bleeding had stopped he was free to go.

"Try not to get hit in the face and for goodness sakes don't touch them." The nurse instructed as she shooed him out. "Now go on, your captain is waiting."

Shanks pulled away from the mirror with a sigh and left the infirmary. Heading back up onto the main deck of the Moby Dick he was met with a rather somber atmosphere. Teach was nowhere to be seen and Roger was beckoning him over.

"What's the diagnosis?" Roger tried to smile, but with things as they were he just didn't have it in him for the moment.

"My eye is still good. Not supposed to touch it or anything though." That should have been a given, but the nurse seemed like she dealt with plenty of pirates who didn't listen on a daily basis.

"Good to hear you came out of it pretty much unscathed." Newgate did manage a smile, even if it was a little forced. "Don't worry about Teach. He's been dealt with."

"Ah… Thank you, Whitebeard-san." Shanks bowed to show his gratitude, which caused both the Yonkou and the Pirate King to chuckle.

"No need to be so formal." Newgate chided gently.

"He'll warm up eventually, Old Man. Now, we should be off. I've got a few more things to take care of." Roger thumped Shanks on the back, which caused the red-haired pirate to sputter and flush, and finally gave a smile. "Remember what I told you about One Palm Island, okay?"

"Don't worry, Roger. I'll be sure to remember." Newgate finally gave a smile that wasn't forced and motioned for his crew to send their friends off in style.

-TSoB-

Life with the bandits proved rather entertaining and she found that she had come to consider them as family. Sure, it pained her to know that her lover would be turning himself in to the Marines soon, but she had raising Ace to look forward to. Speaking of Ace… "He's kicking very strongly today," she murmured, a hand pressed over her protruding abdomen where her precious boy was kicking.

"Is everything okay, Rouge-sama?" Magura appeared at her side, his countenance one of worry.

"Hai, Magura-san, and please, just call me Rouge." She smiled as the man verbally stumbled over an apology, a profuse blush on his cheeks. "It's okay, Magura-san. I wouldn't mind some of your tea."

"M-my tea, Rouge-sa-san?" He glanced over to the currently unused tea pot stored away on the shelf where other cooking utensils were kept. He hadn't made tea in a while.

"Hai, Magura-san. Your tea is delicious. You would make a lot of money if you opened a tea shop." She smiled as the present bandits all fell silent and stared at her then Magura.

"You really think that, Rouge-san?" Dadan stood up from where she had been talking with Dogura and a few of the other bandits, having overhead Rouge's compliment to Magura's tea.

"I do. Magura-san's tea is very good and would sell very well. Having a legitimate source of income would also be good in case Garp-san returns." She smiled benignly, as though she were talking about the weather.

Dadan looked floored, which only caused the pregnant woman to giggle. "Y-you…"

"Hai, Dadan-san?" Rouge continued to look innocent, her eyes large and doe-like while she fluttered her lashes.

"Boys, go get some supplies. We're opening a tea shop!"

-TSoB-

Today was the day they were executing him.

He had given himself over to Garp so that he could relay his final wish to the man, and though it wouldn't be fulfilled for some time, he knew that the Vice Admiral would see it through. _You all will be stronger this time._

They led him out into the streets of Loguetown, showing him off to the people gathered here for this spectacle.

He held his head high and grinned to show that he was still in control. Even when they shoved him onto his knees when they reached the platform. Even throughout the entirety of his last words, which would spurn the Great Age of Piracy, he maintained his grin.

He went to death, smiling, for he was on his way to his next great adventure. _I leave everything to you, Luffy. You and your Nakama will change this world once and for all, and now you can have your loved ones by your side as you do so._


	12. Deadly Aim and Courage

He was all warm and fuzzy inside at the thought of having friends who believed in him and believed him! Sure, he told the occasional tall tale, but he no longer needed what had become his coping mechanism when he was so well loved by all of his Nakama. It was only possible, however, because he had chosen to let himself believe in them, and to believe **him**.

Finishing up his latest invention, which he would add to his arsenal at a later time, Usopp began to clean up his little station that he had up on the upper-tier of the deck. Sweet, lively music drifted up from the bow, and he noticed that the doctor had already left to join in the festivities.

"Hey, Usopp! Come on!" A voice called out to him from the main deck, making him grin happily.

"In a moment! I'm cleaning up," he called back down, just before he was done tidying up his mess. "I'm on my way!" He stood and turned to look down at the mid-deck and the main deck, beaming at the sight of his friends.

The dark-haired archaeologist smiled demurely and waved from her usual spot at the mid-deck table they had out, a book in her hand and a cup of coffee sitting in front of her. He knew her name, he swore he did, but it slipped his mind and tongue for the time being.

The little doctor had stumbled at the foot of the stairs, only to be caught by an arm that popped up out of the deck, thanks to the archaeologist. He smiled sheepishly and gave his thanks before moving down the next set of stairs.

The orange haired navigator, whom personally scared him more than any of the fearsome foes they had come across, was leaning against the railing of the mid-deck. A warm smile was on her lips and she laughed as she watched the antics of their crew.

Their blond chef came out of the kitchen, ladened with plates of delicious foods that were quickly doled out. The ladies were served first, of course, but Usopp happily took the offered plate of kabobs and picked up a stick of the spiced meats.

He bit into heaven as his gaze took in the sight of their blue-haired, cyborg shipwright at the helm, while a tall skeleton played the violin nearby. This was the source of the music that had been playing.

Meanwhile, up on the figure head of their beautiful ship sat their captain and his brothers. He could almost see them clearly between the blade-like pieces of the figurehead's mane from where he stood. Usopp made to call out to them, but everything suddenly went sideways, and dark.

He woke with a start as he hit the floor, his blankets entangled and wrapped around his body. Struggling out of the near cocoon, he blinked up at the surprised face of his mother. After a long moment of them staring at each other, his mother broke out into laughter, a rare smile on her face. His dream forgotten, Usopp grinned and finally untangled himself from his blankets.

"Good morning, mom!" His greeting was enthusiastic as he got up from the floor and quickly fixed up his bed.

"I have a surprise for you, Usopp." Banchina smiled again, despite how pale she was due to her sickness.

"Oh? What sort of surprise do you—" Usopp turned to look at his mother again, noting that she was looking a little better. Behind her, however, stood someone he hadn't seen for quite some time. It was his father, Yasopp. "Dad? Is that really you?!"

Yasopp smiled, a hint of sadness in his expression, and moved from the door way just as his son barreled into him. He knelt down to reciprocate his seven year old son's hug while he glanced up at his ailing wife. "I'm back for a little while, son."

"How long are you back for?" Usopp immediately questioned, pulling away just enough to look his father in the face. When his father returned his gaze he frowned. "How long?"

"We'll be here for a couple weeks, son." He had already explained as much to Banchina, who was thankful that she had gotten to see him again. Yasopp knew that it was tough for her and Usopp to stay behind, but it really wasn't safe for them to be in the New World. Powers were still shifting and his captain, Shanks, was dead set on reaching Whitebeard's status of Yonkou, even with the loss of his arm.

"Okay, dad." Usopp's happiness quickly dissipated, and the seven year old pulled away from his father.

"Why don't you show your father how good you've gotten with your slingshot, Usopp?" Banchina picked up the crudely carved slingshot her son had made some time ago. She held it out for him to take, which he did after a long moment.

The pair left the house, with Usopp morosely leading the way out to the woods where he had set up a variety of targets. He had been happy to see his dad, but with the news that Yasopp wouldn't be staying for long it made him a little bitter.

"Usopp, wait a moment," Yasopp stated softly, stopping as they reached the edge of the woods. He knelt down, wishing for the world that he could make his son happy. He knew what it would take, and that wasn't something that was just in his blood.

"Yeah, dad?" Usopp wasn't even looking up at him. He stood there, with his back to his father as he idly kicked at the ground.

"Would you turn around for me, please?" Yasopp waited for his son to turn around, which he did after a long moment. He wasn't surprised to see tears in Usopp's eyes. "I love you, and your mother, very much. You two are my world, you know that, right?"

Usopp nodded and wiped at his eyes. "Yes," he whispered.

"You might not understand it now, but living on land—working a regular job—it isn't for me. The sea calls to my blood, son." He hoped that Usopp would understand, maybe one day, just what he meant. He was a pirate, he was free. He made his own rules, and of course he followed the rules his captain set down, which were very few.

"Can we come with you?" Usopp asked suddenly, looking up at his dad with his eyes still watery and hope in them.

Yasopp sighed heavily and gave a slight shake of his head. "Where we're going, it's dangerous. I don't want to put you or your mother in danger, Usopp. I couldn't stand it if I lost either of you."

Usopp was ready to burst into more tears, but he held them back, swallowed down his sob and nodded. "I understand."

Yasopp smiled, though it wasn't as bright as before, and brought his son into a hug. "When you're older you can go." It looked as if the sea called to his son, just as it did him. "Get yourself a trustworthy and strong crew, then you can go."

"Okay, dad!" His spirits a bit higher now, the seven year old returned his father's hug. He pulled away after a few seconds and waved his slingshot in the air. "I want to show you how well I can shoot!"

-TSoB-

Usopp waved at the ship as they weighed anchor and began to sail off into the waters of East Blue. Beside him, and looking much better than ever, was his mother, who smiled and waved to the ship as well.

From the stern of the ship Yasopp watched as his small family bade him farewell. It tugged at his heart, to part from them, but he knew that he couldn't stay. What he had told Usopp about the sea calling to him was true. Thankfully they had plenty of medicine aboard and had spared some for his wife. She looked much better now, and even had a glow to her.

Usopp was still waving like mad and now running along the beach. In his hand was the brand new slingshot he'd given to him, a nicely carved green one with the handle wrapped up in white tape. Usopp had immediately named it Ginga Pachinko and proved how exceptional of a marksman he was. The seven year old had definitely inherited his skills, which had been blatantly obvious with the crude wooden slingshot that was now in his own pocket.

"Heard your son's got quite the shot, Yasopp," Shanks called from the helm, a grin on his face.

"He got it from me, captain!" Yasopp proudly exclaimed, his heart bursting with joy. "He'll be better than me one day."

"Aye. He'll be something, just like Luffy from Fuusha!" Shanks had bet his arm on the snot-nosed hammer. "Think they'd make good friends?"

"The best of," Yasopp stated, watching as his son, and soon the Gecko Islands, where Syrup village was, disappeared from view.


	13. Heart of Sword

He'd been having such a nice nap when the boisterous calls from his Captain woke him up. Zoro cracked open his eyes and a grin slowly etched across his face as he took in the presence of his Nakama. They were celebrating, and the Captain was calling for more meat while the sensible blond brother of his scolded him. The other brother, a brunet like his Captain, laughed and joined in calling for more meat.

The shipwright was at the helm, while off to the port side of the prow was the skeleton playing a lively tune on his violin. Zoro hummed along while he turned his gaze to observe the ship's Doctor and the Sniper coming down from the little garden section on the uppermost deck of the stern area. They both stumbled, but were thankfully caught thanks to the Devil Fruit abilities their resident Archaeologist had. She smiled faintly at them, amused, before turning her gaze back to one of the books she always had.

Standing a small distance from her at the railing of the stern's mid-deck was their Navigator, who contented herself by watching the ocean around them for signs of weather changes. She was hypersensitive to such things, and though Zoro had monetary issues with her, he would trust her with his life when it came to Navigation.

Out from the kitchen came the blond cook, who danced around and swooned at the two ladies like the fool he was. Once they were served their lighter snacks did the chef begin serving the men of the vessel. Zoro took an offered meat skewer and as the chef passed him by he teasingly traced a hand across the man's ass.

This action alone was well worth it as the blond chef quickly rounded on him, a tirade leaving his lips, while he gave the swordsman a vicious kick to the head, his cheeks flushed a brilliant red.

Zoro was jarred out of his strange dream by a rather forceful shove from Kuina. The slightly older girl of eleven was glaring down at him, her hands on her hips. "What was that for?!" he grumbled, rubbing a bit of drool off of his cheek. His dream, and the details of it, had quickly faded from his mind.

"You had a stupid look on your face and you were supposed to be meditating, not sleeping!" Kuina griped, her glare intensifying.

Zoro yawned in response and got up from where he was supposed to have been meditating, at least according to Kuina. "I can't help it if I fall asleep, besides, what is it hurting?"

Kuina huffed and grabbed her shinai, tucking the bamboo practice sword under her arm before she left the room.

"Must be time to train," Zoro mumbled and picked up the two shinai he used to train with.

-TSoB-

They stood across from one another, covered in bruises and nicks, panting after their first match with real swords. Zoro had still lost, and it was the two thousandth time too! Muttering slightly, he dropped to the ground and rolled onto his back, his swords laying a safe distance away.

Kuina softened her expression and sheathed her family's meito, Wado Ichimonji, before joining Zoro on the ground. "I won't be able to keep winning against you as I get older, Zoro," she said faintly, slightly jealous of the fact that Zoro was a male and she wasn't.

"What do you mean?" Zoro turned his head to look at her, a scowl on his face. For as long as he could remember since he had come to her family's Dojo she had always beaten him. She was just that good.

"It's because when I get older and as my body matures… I won't be able to be as strong as you. Women can't become a proper swordsman." Tears filled her eyes and she rolled on her side to face away from the green haired ten year old. "I can tell the difference already," she whispered low enough that he almost didn't catch it.

"That's a lie!" He near shouted furiously, eyes ablaze as he sat up. "You work twice as hard as I do! How can you say something like-"

"Because it's true! I will always have to train twice as hard and it will never be enough!" She rolled back over to face him and sat up as well. An angry scowl of her own was on her face while tears still streamed down her cheeks. "Once you surpass me, Zoro, I won't ever be able to catch up!"

Zoro opened his mouth to argue but Kuina got up and grabbed the meito before bolting off to the dojo. "Kuina! Wait!" He got up to chase after her, pausing to grab his swords so they wouldn't rust from the dew on the grass.

He followed her into the dojo and to the back of the building, knowing that despite her being upset she would return Wado Ichimonji to its stand. She had started descending the stairs down to where the meito was usually kept when she suddenly stumbled and began to fall. "Kuina!" Zoro shouted and let go of the swords he was carrying to lunge forward and catch her.

-TSoB-

Kuina laid in bed, silent tears tracing down her cheeks while Zoro sat off to the side, bandages wrapped around the entire length of his left arm. He was glowering something fierce and not looking at her while the doctor finished up with his examination.

"I'm afraid you won't be able to walk ever again, young lady. You are paralyzed from the waist down," the doctor concluded, which caused Zoro to abruptly get up and storm out of the room.

Koshiro, who had been worriedly sitting on the other side of Kuina watched as his student got up and left, likely blaming himself for Kuina's accident. He glanced at his daughter who was staring after her best friend, her tears renewed.

"It wasn't his fault," she whispered, her gaze never leaving the door.

"I know that, sweetheart." It was because of Zoro his daughter was still alive. The doctor had already explained as much, and thankfully for the green haired boy, he had only suffering some serious bruising and a sprain.

The meito, Wado Ichimonji was propped up against the wall by Kuina's bed, which Koshiro didn't dare bring up to the girl. She turned her attention to the sword now and swallowed, knowing that she would never be able to use it again. "Please give it to him, daddy."

Koshiro looked taken aback, his own gaze going to the sword that had been the reason his daughter was going down those steps. After a careful study of her now determined expression he gave a slight nod. "I'll talk to him as well."

-TSoB-

"I can't! It's my fault-"

"It is not your fault, Roronoa Zoro," Kuina said sharply from her bed, causing the boy to look at her in shock.

"You saved her life, Zoro-kun," Koshiro added gently, hoping that if the boy heard it from them then he would be less likely to blame himself.

"But she's—"

"Alive because of you, and that is all that matters," Koshiro said in a tone of finality.

"I might not be able to use a sword ever again, and while that thought hurts, a lot, I rather be able to see you become the world's strongest swordsman! And I want you to use her to do it!" Kuina glared at Zoro, determination set into her expression.

"But Kuina…" Zoro was at a loss for words. Why weren't they cursing him and screaming at him. Kuina couldn't use a sword anymore… Instead, here they both were telling him it wasn't his fault and _she_ was wanting him to use Wado Ichimonji. "Is it really okay for me to have her?"

"It's what Kuina wants, Zoro, and I agree with her." Koshiro smiled faintly and once again held out the meito for Zoro to take. "Please fulfill Kuina's desire to become the world's strongest swordsman with this meito."

Zoro stared down at Wado Ichimonji for a long moment, a frown on his face before he glanced up at Kuina. "Okay," he murmured and gently took the sword from Koshiro. "I promise to become the world's strongest swordsman using Wado Ichimonji."


	14. Unexpected Side Effects Part 4

In her time with the bandits Rouge had occasionally visited Fuusha, while her pregnancy allowed it, and had made fast friends with a lady who ran the little tavern there. Makino was her name, and she had been making a return visit up at the bandits' cabin when it had happened. A month too soon, but it happened.

"The baby is coming!" Rouge gasped out, a hand pressed to her extended abdomen while a sharp and painful contraction hit her out of nowhere. There was a wetness on her thighs and legs, and she didn't have to look down at the forming puddle to know that her water had broken.

Dadan immediately started shooing the bandits out of the cabin while Makino fetched some water to heat over the fire. Once the cabin was cleared of the menfolk Dadan promptly began to freak out. She had never done something like this before. Ever.

"Get some towels," Rouge said in a pained voice, giving the red-haired bandit some direction. She had already laid down on a pile of cushions kept out in the main room and was trying to pace her breathing.

Makino came back in with a bucket of water and poured it into the kettle hanging over the fire. "How far apart have the contractions been?" She asked as she walked over to where Rouge was. With Fuusha being a small town she had a bit of experience in midwifery.

"Four, no three minutes." She grunted as another contraction came, the pain sharp. It passed after a moment and she smiled weakly up at Makino.

"I've got the towels," Dadan called out as she returned to the main room of the cabin, a bundle of clean towels in her arms.

"Bring them over here," Makino said in a gentle tone as she knelt in front of Rouge.

-TSoB-

Garp had been eating breakfast in the mess hall when one of the News Coos landed in front of him. A thin cream-colored envelope was promptly waved in front of his face, making the Vice Admiral glare. The News Coo froze at his expression, so he took the envelope from the gull and shooed it off. It gave him a sullen look but flew off, not willing to press Garp for payment.

Grumbling about the audacity of the News Coo he examined the envelope and frowned as he recognized Makino's handwriting. Why would she be sending him a letter here? He blinked slowly, trying to think of a reason why she would even contact him. He couldn't come up with any, as he was unaware of the friendship that she and Rouge had struck up.

Glancing around at the marines scattered around the mess hall, Garp frowned slightly and got up from his table. He waved off a few people who called to him then made his way out to the hallway. Turning the envelope over in his hand, he carefully opened it and pulled out the single sheet of paper inside. He read over the letter several times, a smiling widening on his face while tears of joy ran down his cheeks.

Completely uncaring as to his rank and composure, he ran down the hall once he stuffed the letter into the pocket of his suit jacket. Within a matter of minutes he had reached Sengoku's office and entered without even bother to knock. "I'd like to use my vacation time!" He proclaimed loudly, not even taking a second to check and see if the Fleet Admiral was busy.

Sengoku had thankfully been writing up reports to send to the Gorosei, but he was still irritated with Garp's intrusion. "And you couldn't put in a formal request to use your vacation time?" He asked in a sharp tone, which went unheeded by the Vice Admiral.

""No! I just got some really good news and would like to use my vacation time!" Despite he excitement over the news contained in the letter from Makino, Garp was conscious of not revealing anything to do with the birth of Gol D. Roger's child, let alone that he actually had one. There was a hunt going on for Rouge and the child, and he was aware of that, but he wasn't going to let that stop him from visiting. He also knew how to throw someone off of his trail, as protecting them was of absolute importance.

"If you absolutely must." Sengoku gave a weary sigh and pulled out a leave request form that he knew he would fill out for Monkey D. Garp. The man was too impatient to stay and do it himself. "How much of your vacation would you like to use?"

"All of it!" Garp grinned widely and snagged some rice crackers from Sengoku's death. After that he left before Sengoku could even protest, as he had a few months of vacation stored up.


	15. The Passionate Flame

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Christ almighty, this took forever. My muses were very uncooperative and so I must apologize to those of you waiting for updates on any of my works. Burning them out with Far Cry 3 had not been smart, but it seems they've become a little more amicable now. Here's to hoping and the next chapter for The Strongest of Bonds.

The waves gently rocked the ship, lulling him into a doze where he sat on the lion-like figurehead. There was a familiar and comforting weight against his right side, belonging to his youngest… Brother? Ace blinked his eyes open, his lips tugged into a faint frown while the thought that he had a brother processed in his mind. He turned his head to glance in his brother’s direction and was met by the sight of a worn straw hat, mere inches from his face. He could barely make out the short golden curls of another, his other younger brother, sitting on the other side of the hat wearer over the brim.

  
Ace opened his mouth to speak, to draw their attention to him, yet no sound would come out. He silently floundered for a moment then closed his mouth with a scowl replacing his frown. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he speak?

  
He stared at the worn straw hat donning the head of whom he knew to be his youngest sibling for a moment longer, a sense of peace and happiness finally replacing his confusion. He finally relaxed and let his gaze fix on the horizon ahead of them. He took comfort in the sight of blue on blue on an even deeper blue where the sky and ocean met, stretching on as far as his eyes could see. A delightful tune, played on a violin, started up behind them and he couldn't help but to hum along as his little brother’s weight shifted and a new pressure became noticeable on his shoulder.

  
“I’m glad that the both of you are here,” came the hushed whisper from his youngest brother, the idea of which he was starting to accept. “It means everything to me.”

  
Ace wasn't sure what his youngest brother meant at that, his mind working to piece things together, which was understandably difficult since he wasn't sure what was going on. He didn't have time to ponder it any further, as the ship seemed to lurch and the next thing he knew he was falling. Falling towards the sea. All at once he immediately panicked, because he was little more than a dead weight in the sea, but the idea of that was strange to him. He was certain he knew how to swim.

  
As soon as he impacted with the water Ace jolted awake, a thin sheen of sweat covering his body. For one explicable moment he could recall the dream in vivid detail, his heart racing with the remnants of the terror he felt as he had fallen towards the sea. Then it all suddenly faded and he couldn't recall what the dream had been about.

"Ace, sweetie, are you up yet?” His mother called to him from the bottom of the ladder that lead up into the small loft-like addition to their home.

  
Ace laid there for a moment, his mind still fuzzy with sleep, before he rolled onto his stomach and crept to the edge of the loft. He peered down at his mother, who gave a brilliant smile as soon as she saw him, and gave a jaw-popping yawn.

  
Rouge’s eyes crinkled at the corners and sparkled with retained amusement as the sight of her son, her smile widening. “We’re going to Goa today to deliver more tea leaves to our shop in Edge Town, Ace. Would you-” She didn't even get to finish her sentence, her amusement growing as her son’s face lit up with excitement and he quickly shook off the lingering vestiges of sleep. “I’ll take that as a yes,” she stated with a laugh and turned to leave their bedroom. “I'll have breakfast ready for you, so hurry up and get dressed.”

  
She barely left the room as Ace all but vaulted down from the loft, his thoughts swirling excitedly for trip to Goa. It was a rare treat that his mother took him with her on her monthly trips to replenish the tea leaf supply for the shop that Dadan and her bandits ran out of Edge Town. He was usually left behind in the care of the bandits at their mountaintop home, but being a highly energetic five year old often proved too much for the bandits to handle.

  
_The Strongest of Bonds_

  
Gray Terminal had hardly changed since the last time he had been allowed to accompany his mother to Goa. Sure, some of the trash heaps were a little taller, and there were a few new faces among the vagrants that inhabited the heaps, but it was still the same drab and smelly Gray Terminal.

  
Carefully picking their way through the piles of refuse, most of it junk as opposed to actual garbage, Ace curiously gazed around as he followed behind his mother. He spied some of the inhabitants eying them with wary gazes while they kept to themselves and plucked through the heaps for odds and ends that might still be worth something.

  
His pace slowed considerably as he turned his attention to the surrounding heaps of trash and inspected them without approaching. A budding and vaguely familiar curiosity filled him as he swept his gaze over the piles, trying to spot things that would still be of value.

  
It was only for a brief moment, but that moment was enough. Something, rather someone, of similar size and shape to him slammed into his side and with two resounding cries, one of surprise and the other slightly pained, Ace and his accidental attacker were sent to the ground. With reflexes honed from training imparted to him by his mother, Ace rolled with his tumble and ended up in a haphazard crouch while the other person, a boy nearly his own age, ended up face first on the ground.

  
“Ace?!” His mother immediately turned back and rushed over to them, worry evident on her face.

  
“I’m okay, mom,” he replied to her silent question, and watched as she knelt next to the fallen boy.

  
Rouge gently helped the boy sit up and pulled a handkerchief from one of the hidden pockets sewn into her dress so she could clean off his face. She said nothing as to the cleanliness of his clothes, or that they looked too new for someone to be running around in Grey Terminal. Instead, she simply smiled at him while he scrunched up his face through her efforts to clean it. Once she finished she tucked the handkerchief back into the pocket it came from then helped the boy to stand up.

  
“Thank you very much, ma’am,” the boy said with a short bow, a smile that looked like it was forcefully pasted onto his face. He turned to regard Ace, his expression becoming less forced as he realized that he was with someone else his own age. “I’m sorry for running into you.”

  
Ace blinked a couple of times in surprise then gave a smile of his own and absently rubbed at the back of his head. “It’s no big deal,” he responded as he got a better look at the boy. He wore a top hat with a pair of blue goggles fitted around the crown of the hat where a band would usually go. It was obviously too large for him to be wearing, because it slid down over his eyes, making the boy give a soft groan of exasperation and causing Ace to softly snicker.

  
  
The boy tugged the hat off, revealing the short and curly blond hair that his headgear obscured. He fidgeted with the hat as his gaze went from Ace to Rouge, his nervousness palpable. The silence that stretched on between them was starting to become uncomfortable, and the boy opened his mouth to say something, likely an excuse to run off and not stand here looking like he was being scrutinized.

  
“Can he come with us, mom?” Ace asked, effectively startling the blond boy into silence.

  
Rouge looked between the two boys, a warm smile blossoming on her face. “Of course, but only if he wants to.”

  
“Would you like to come with us?” Ace focused his gaze on the blond, who stared at him in dumbfounded silence. “Well?” He added after a moment had passed without the boy answering.

  
“I- You don't even know me, but you want me to come with you?” The boy’s shock had quickly turned to disbelief and he looked between Ace and his mother with a measure of distrust in his expression.

  
Ace gave a soft huff of exasperation then stretched out his hand toward the boy. “I’m Ace. Would you like to come with us.”

  
The boy shifted his gaze to Ace’s hand and stared for a few seconds before he slowly took it with his own and raised his gaze to Ace’s face. “I’m Sabo, and I’d love to come with you.” A small smile worked it's way onto his face while Ace outright grinned and Ace’s mother hid a gentle and bemused smile behind her hand.


End file.
